Flexibility that is beneficial for health is not necessary to achieve the recommended range your joint can move around as illustrated on anatomy book. The joint may not exhibit the same range of motion when you are moving or walking as the body have to stabilize or under loads. We need the flexibility that is functional and help us move better.
Holding a position and stretch standing still or sitting is what we usually do when we feel stiff. But not suitable for the situation when we are about to engage in dynamic movements. It does not prepare the muscle and connective tissue for the active contraction and relaxation that will occur with any running, jumping or kicking movements as required. Dynamic stretching is more appropriate to stretch the muscles in the range of motion that they are going to be worked. Static stretches cannot maintain the heart rate as dynamic stretching contributes to cardiovascular warm ups.
Dynamic stretching is defined as repetitive contractions of a muscle to produce quick stretches of the muscle opposing to it. So jumping, body rotations, bending, etc can be classified as dynamic stretching. These stretches mimic the movements of the sport or activity to be participated in are components of dynamic warms up. To maintain dynamic flexibility facilitates force generation and enhancement in power, strength, muscular endurance, anaerobic capacity and agility.
But its impact on long-term muscle lengthening is minimal due to the limited time that a muscle is held in a stretch. Remember to spare a few minutes to do static stretching after the game or training session for faster recovery.
Here is an exercise showing how dynamic stretches activate the opposing muscles of the shortened muscles to relieve the tension. In case of round shoulder, this is useful to facilitate the stretching of the tight chest by contracting the upper back muscles.
